London Premiere

Short Synopsis:

Huge is a bittersweet drama about a feuding double act trying to make it in the cut-throat world of stand-up comedy.

Review:

After successfully (and unintentionally) getting a few laughs out of a crowd at a small venue, aspiring comedian Warren (Johnny Harris) and local funny-man Clarke (Noel Clarke) decide to form a double-act in the vein of Morecambe and Wise.

Huge is a film that, despite being marketed as a comedy and focusing on two aspiring stand-up comedians, works far better from a dramatic perspective. Though there is a lot of humour in the film, much of it derived from the discomfort of reality; the sharply scripted picture shines brightest when exploring the delusions and the inner angst of protagonists Warren and Clarke. Warren, in particular, is a fascinating character whose many contradictions go some way to making sense of his unpredictable, sometimes unexplainable actions. Johnny Harris is excellent at conveying the extent of Warren’s self-deception and has a brilliant rapport with Noel Clarke who turns in a fascinating performance. Though many of the beats that both actors hit are primarily dramatic, they also thrive in a fantastically executed comic sequence in which Thandie Newton gloriously hams it up. Writer/Director Ben Miller’s greatest success, however, is the film’s interesting aesthetic; the vividness of the colours subverts the bleakness of the story.  Set and costume designs provide further context and support to the character’s contrasting expectations and failures. Huge is as much a heterosexual romance as anything else and it’s actually a damn good one.

Followed by Q&A

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